


Patched Up

by lotusroot



Category: My Time At Portia (Video Game)
Genre: Comfort, Dialogue Heavy, Fluff, Gender-Neutral Pronouns, Other, POV Arlo (My Time At Portia), Reader-Insert
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-06
Updated: 2020-09-06
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:42:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,349
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26321344
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lotusroot/pseuds/lotusroot
Summary: Where Arlo and the builder are in a weird place, and medical heat patches and cuddling is enough for now.A short fluffy fic, Arlo has feelings and doesn't know what to do about them. Especially when the feeling is mutual.(no pronouns used, gender-neutral reader)
Relationships: Arlo/Builder (My Time At Portia)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 25





	Patched Up

Light beams bleed through white curtains as Arlo wakes with bleary eyes.  
_‘Cheap material,’_ he remembers you teasing with a smirk, _‘You know I can replace those for you, right?’_  
Maybe he’ll finally take you up on your offer, he thinks, eyes squinting to avoid the light. Or maybe he won’t. It’s not like he's been avoiding you, he tells himself. ‘I’ve just been extra busy recently, and I’m sure they have been too. We're allowed to have time to ourselves’, he concludes, though he’s been missing you terribly.

He stands from the bed, stretching quickly before reaching for his jacket and a pair of jeans, lying sprawled across the foot of his bed. He changes quickly, stepping into the bathroom to brush his teeth and comb his fingers through his red hair.

He opens his bedroom door to Remington, sat at their dining table with a cup of coffee in one hand, and a pen in the other. As he approaches the table, he can see sheets of paper spread across the dark wood, different commission forms and Civil Corps reports. Even from here he can differentiate between Remington, Sam, and his own handwriting, and he wonders briefly how they ever let him use a pen.  
Remington’s dark eyes dart up to meet his with a smile.

“Morning,” Remington says, voice deep with tiredness. “You’re up earlier than normal. I didn’t wake you up, did I?”

“No, it was too bright. Thin curtains.” Arlo answers quickly, then shoots him a look. “Have you been up for a while?”

“Nope.” Remington replies, then raises his cup to take a small sip. “I thought you were going to have those replaced.”

“Yeah, well the builder was busy.” Arlo fibs, cursing Remington’s attentiveness. He pulls back a chair to take a seat.

Remington raises a thick eyebrow, a knowing look on his face. “They came by yesterday to replace mine.”

Arlo’s lips press together into a thin line.

The curly haired man sets his cup down with a smile. “They were asking about you. Just go over and say hi.”

When Arlo doesn’t reply, he stands with a sigh and shuffles the papers into some resemblance of a neat stack. “I’m meeting Sam in fifteen for patrol duty. There’s extra eggs in the stove, and coffee in the pot.”

Arlo meets his eye with a smile. “Thanks, Remy.”

Remington turns to leave, grabbing his jacket off the back of his chair. He zips it shut with a smile, pushing the doors of the Civil Corps open. “You’re welcome. Oh, and there’s a commission for you.”

The doors shut with a bang, and Arlo allows the silence to settle once more. He pushes against the table to stand, pouring the coffee into a mug. He goes to retrieve the commission tacked against the board, raising the paper to read it as he savours the bitterness against his taste buds.

> Requested: Sewage Plant Ruin Dive.  
>  I want Captain Arlo to retrieve machinery and materials I can use for my projects. I need these materials by the end of the day, I will not pay for failure. I expect the best from the Civil Corps’ leader, afterall.  
>  Signed, Higgins. 

Arlo finishes reading with a roll of his eyes. Higgins had always been cruel with time frames, but he had become increasingly vindictive the closer the town was to the builder. You’d been charming all the townspeople with your conversation and gifts, Arlo himself had fallen victim to your homemade seafood noodles.  
The redhead reconsiders Remington’s words. Maybe he would visit you today. After finishing this commission.

\---

Arlo had returned to the Civil Corps building once the sun had set. He worked quickly to package all the loot and machinery parts he found in those ruins, and lastly stapled the commission on top of the box. His back ached as he knelt to place the box beneath the commission board. The narrow time frame had Arlo working twice as hard, and he briefly regretted not taking a second cup of coffee.

Now Arlo stands outside your workshop, stomach churning while his fist hovers above the door. He inhales deeply, before knocking three times against the wood.

“Come in!” You call, muffled by the door.

He opens the door apprehensively, stepping into your home and turning to close the door behind himself.

“Hello?” He calls, peering into empty spaces before finding you in your bedroom, clad in nothing but a black tank top and cotton shorts.

“You could've just asked me to wait,” He says with a blush.

You shrug, unbothered. “Eh. It’s not like you haven’t seen my shoulders before.”

He watches as you stretch to grab a jumper, noting the rectangular, white patches on your back, underneath by the black straps of your top.

His eyebrows furrow. “Are you alright? Did you get hurt?”

You smile placidly, rolling your eyes. “Don’t _worry_ , Arlo. It’s nothing, just muscle strain, I think. I just went a bit too far on the manual work today.”

“Doesn’t sound like nothing to me.” He says quietly, moving to sit beside you on the bed.

“What about you?” You deflect, eyes softening under his gaze, cast downwards. “I’ve… Kinda been waiting for you to visit.”

Guilt fills his chest.

“I’m sorry. I’ve been really occupied with the Corps, and I had a pretty tough commission.”  
He sees you lift your gaze to meet his. “They asked me to do a full ruin dive within a day.”

You grimace lightly. “Yikes, sorry to hear that. Commissioners can be dickheads sometimes.”  
He nods in agreement, and you grin. “So… Want a heat patch?”

He watches your grin widen at his disbelief. 

“You’re an idiot.” He says with a sigh, though you both know he doesn’t mean it. “Yeah, sure.”

“Cool. Shoulders? Back? Where?”

His mouth quirks sideways in thought. “Around the shoulders I reckon - Where are you going?”

You disappear from his view, and he can hear the bed creak directly behind him. “I’m giving you the heat patch.” You tap twice on his shoulder blade. “Jacket off, please.”

“I can do this myself, you know.” Arlo says, though he’s already unzipping his jacket.

“I know.”

He sighs, knowing you won’t budge. “Fine. Just this once.”

“You said that last time.”

“... Don’t make me regret coming over to check on you.”

You laugh lightly behind him. “Sorry!”

Arlo shrugs off his jacket, feeling exposed in a white shirt. He flinches as you slip your hands beneath the fabric to touch his bare shoulders. 

“... Here?”

He nods, and fights the urge to jump as the cold adhesive of the patch touches his skin. Your fingers press the patch in place, and slowly, warmth spreads across his muscles. He focuses on the sound of your slow breathing, the warmth and pressure of your fingers holding the patch to his skin.

Neither of you say anything for a moment, and he swears you’ve moved closer.

“Is it working?”

He turns his head to smile at you. “Yep, it feels better already. Thank you.”

His eyes widen as you lean forward to wrap your arms around his waist. You let out a small sigh against his back, and he shivers slightly. Slowly, he moves his hands down to engulf your smaller ones.

He can feel your heartbeat against his back.

“I’m sorry I didn’t come over earlier.”

You sigh. “No, it’s fine. I get it.”

“No - I’m sorry I’ve been avoiding you.”

You shrug against his back. “It’s okay, Arlo. I know you just need time to think about stuff, to figure out how you feel. I just worry, especially about you.”

“I know.” He says, lifting one of your hands and pressing his lips to it gently. “And I’ve missed you,” he whispers, loud enough for you to hear.

“I’ve missed you too.” You squeeze him tighter. “Will you stay over?” Your voice is small, the question mumbled into his skin.

Arlo turns to face you, pressing a kiss on your forehead. “Of course,” He says with a smile, “You don’t even need to ask”.

**Author's Note:**

>  _yes_ arlo is emotionally stunted and _yes_ i still love him  
> aka ive played portia for 2 days in a row and i came out of my cave to WRITE
> 
> anyways please let me know if there are any spelling/grammar issues !  
> and thank you for reading!! <3


End file.
